The ongoing tension and turmoil in Haiti, Uganda, and Macedonia once again demonstrate the complex relationship between elections, democratic stability, and peace. Peaceful elections help create the foundation for stable political transitions. But in poorly governed states, elections often trigger violence and intimidation. Over the years election violence has gained prominence within the broader fields of peace and security studies. Much of the literature looks at the drivers, triggers, perpetrators, and victims of elections. At the same time, domestic and international actors remain surprisingly ill-equipped to evaluate and prioritize efforts to prevent election violence. Dedicated research can certainly help address this gap.
Targeted peacebuilding efforts are frequently used to … [Read more...]

On 4 February, the Project on Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence teamed up with Creative Associates International and the Alliance for Peacebuilding to launch a practitioner-based affinity group on electoral violence.
The inaugural meeting of the Electoral Violence Affinity Group in Washington, DC brought together representatives of organisations including the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the Carter Center, Search for Common Ground and the United States Agency for International Development.
The new group serves a vital need, say its founders, as a first of its kind forum for development practitioners, advocacy organisations and donors to share resources and lessons learned in electoral violence prevention and mitigation.
“There is a community out there … [Read more...]